


Date of Convenience

by jinxes (bobbemorse)



Category: DCU, The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2015-11-29
Packaged: 2018-05-03 23:49:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5311760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bobbemorse/pseuds/jinxes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Caitlin and Iris are stuck in a ATM vestibule during a blackout and this story is shamelessly inspired by that one f.r.i.e.n.d.s. episode.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Date of Convenience

When it goes dark Caitlin screams.  
She's not proud of it and she immediately covers her mouth with her hands but everybody still in the vestibule will have heard it nonetheless.  
She screams and almost instantly there's another voice.

“Are you okay?“ The voice asks, and it's steady and calm and Caitlin manages to put down her hands and nod. Then she notices that it's still pitch-dark.  
"Yeah, thanks. Just... shocked for a second there." There's a little laugh.  
"Okay, well I'm sure the Generator is gonna come on any-" There's light.  
"-second," the voice says and it belongs to the only other person in the vestibule. She laughs over the last word.

"Wow, that was some good tv-show worthy timing right there," she says and looks at Caitlin. The little laugh bubbles up in her and leaves her lips before Caitlin can stop it. The woman who is standing across the room against the little table on the wall is beautiful. Like purely objectively, from a completely unbiased point of view.  
The blue sweater she's wearing is very flattering for her figure and her pants are just... tight. Which looks good. Anyone would say that, it's a very natural observation.

The woman scans the room, before she goes for the doors and tries to open them. The automatic doors. Which don't open because there is a blackout. Caitlin's eyes widen, the woman sighs. When she turns around again, she looks at Caitlin again and looks almost apologetic:  
"Looks like we'll be trapped for a while."

Caitlin checks her watch and shrugs.  
"Maybe the power'll be back up in a few minutes," she says and thinks that Cisco would probably know what to do right now. He would scheme out some completely insane plan to break these doors open. On the other hand maybe he wouldn't do it, if he was trapped with a beautiful woman. Caitlin's smile is small and fond.

As if she sent out a telepathic cry for help her phone starts ringing at that moment. It takes her a few seconds to get it out of her purse.  
"This is Caitlin Snow, hello?"  
"You can't be serious," Cisco greets her from the other end of the line.  
"You still greet people like that? On the phone?" Caitlin looks over at the woman and she gives her a quick smile, pointing at Caitlin's phone, mozthing: _'Good idea!'_ Then she starts fishing around in her pockets for her own phone.

Caitlin sighs.  
"What is it, Cisco?" The unmistakable sound of someone eating is her answer. Once he's swallowed whatever he's eating, Cisco says:  
"Just wanted to make sure you're okay. Ronnie says the power's out in Manhattan, Brooklyn _and_ Queens." More chewing.  
"This is awesome."

"Where is Ronnie?" Caitlin asks.  
"And where are you?"  
"At Ronnie's," Cisco says.  
"We both are. He has a fridge full of perishable food we need to save." Caitlin pinches her eybrows together for a second.  
"Don't eat too much," she says.  
"And don't let Ronnie drink all the milk, you know how he gets."  
"Yes mom."

Caitlin looks across the room again. The other woman is on her phone now, too.  
"I'm fine, dad," she says in a tone of someone who has to assure the people in her life about her well-being more than often. It comes out soft. Kind.  
"No, I'm not. I'm stuck at a bank, the doors won't open." She pauses, then chuckles and rolls her eyes.  
"Dad, no," she says and Caitlin notices at that moment that she's staring and still on the phone with Cisco.

"So, where are you?" Cisco asks.  
"Trapped in a bank, because the automatic doors are shut down."  
"I'll be fine. The power'll come back on and the doors will open and you don't need to come get me. Take care of the people who need the help," Other Woman says and props her elbow up on the table she's standing at. So her father is a Helper, most likely as a profession, a doctor maybe, or a fireman, a cop. And she is eavesdropping.  
Other Woman nods to something her dad's saying.  
"I will," she says.  
"Promise! Love you, dad."

"Cait, are you still there?" Cisco.  
"Uh," Caitlin says.  
"Yeah, what did you say?"  
"I said dude, that sucks. Why aren't you listening to me? Is there someone with you? Are you trapped with a potential serial killer? Because you know, it would really suck for me to have to come save you." Other Woman is dialing another number.  
"No serial killer," Caitlin hisses.  
"Everything's fine, there's just another woman in here."  
"What? You don't think women can be serial killers? You know, on Criminal Minds they said women make more efficient murderers than men."  
"There are no serial killers here," she says firmly.  
"I'm hanging up now."

"Hey Barry," Other Woman says cheerfully, while Caitlin puts her phone back.  
"Yeah, I'm fine, where are you?" Caitlin doesn't know how she normally stands. Or should she sit down? She looks at the floor. Definitely no sitting down. How does she normally stand?  
"Ooooh," Other Woman says in that tone people have when they mock someone about their crush. Then she laughs.  
"What? I just hope the power stays out for a while. For your sake." Should she listen this openly? Why didn't she just take a book with her?

"Oh no, I'm at the bank. Doors won't open." Her eyes sweep over Caitlin again. She gives her a smile. Caitlin can't help but think that she wants to see one of those again.  
"I'm not alone," she says and now her eyes stay on Caitlin a little longer. She _winks_. Caitlin has never been winked at before by anyone but Cisco. And Cisco is terrible at winking. Other Woman makes it look easy and playful.

"I don't know, a woman." She's A Woman. Other Woman and A Woman in a bank. Caitlin doesn't know what to do with her hands.  
"I don't think so." Other Woman lowers her phone for a moment and leans towards Caitlin.  
"Hey, do you have a criminal record?" Caitlin can hear the protest coming out of the speaker from where she's standing. Other Woman's eyes are gleaming with mischief. Caitlin shakes her head.  
"No, of course not." Other Woman nods. Then she presses her phone to her ear again.  
"She says she doesn't have one. Although," she says, her smile growing wider.  
"That's exactly what someone with a criminal record _would say_." Caitlin splutters. Other Woman laughs and listens to whatever's said on the other end of the line.  
" _Goodbye Barry,_ " she says and hangs up.

"I don't have a criminal record," Caitlin says, because she feels that that is important.  
"I'm sure you don't," Other Woman says, still grinning. She softens a little.  
"I'm sorry, my best friend's just so easy to rile up." Caitlin nods in understanding.  
"I get that," she says.  
"You have a friend like that, too?" Caitlin squirms a little.  
"I think I _am_ that friend at times." The responding laugh is easy and with no mean undertones to be detected.

"I'm Iris," Other Woman says and crosses the room to offer Caitlin her hand. Caitlin takes it. _Iris._ It fits, Caitlin decides.  
"Caitlin," she says and smiles.  
"Oh yeah, I know," Iris says.  
"Caitlin Snow." When Caitlin furrows her brow Iris smiles again.  
"You said your name when you picked up the phone," she explains and Caitlin relaxes. (Cisco said her way of greeting was lame. Does Iris think it was lame?)

"So, your friend thinks I'm a serial killer?" Iris asks, her eyebrows raised.  
"Your friend asked if I have a criminal record," Caitlin answers and earns a laugh.  
"Point," Iris says and looks around the room again.  
"Wow, there is really not much to do in a vestibule," she says and Caitlin refrains from pointing out, that she has her phone on her. She doesn't want to give this conversation up yet.

"What does your dad do?" she asks and regrets it immediately. What kind of invasive question is that? Iris just smiles softly, though, so Caitlin guesses it's okay.  
"He's a cop," she says. Caitlin congratulates herself on the right guess.  
"Of course that also means that he's terrible overprotective and offered to crack these doors open as soon as he heard that I was stuck here." She gives Caitlin a quick look.  
"Sorry that I haven't taken him up on that, I don't know if you have somewhere to be."

"Oh," Caitlin waves it off.  
"No, it's fine. In a blackout there are other priorities." When she looks at Iris again, she lowers her voice a little.  
"It's nice to know that he's always going to come for you, though, isn't it?" Surprise flashes over Iris' face and then she smiles again. It's the most genuine smile Caitlin has seen all night.  
"Yeah definitely," Iris says. Then she perks up.  
"Hey, I think I have pen and paper. We could play _Who Am I?_ "

They play _Who Am I?_ Iris tells Caitlin that she carries pen and paper everywhere she goes because she's a journalist. Caitlin tells her that she carries pen and peper everywhere she goes because she's a scientist.  
Caitlin doesn't think Iris understands everthing she tells her, but she listens intently when Caitlin starts talking about her research. She tells her about Cisco and Ronnie and Doctor Wells.  
Iris talks about Barry and his science obsession (Caitlin's heart skips a beat when Iris tells her that they'll hit it off when she introduces them. She carries the _when_ with her the whole night.), Eddie and her dad. Her dream to become a cop and how happy she is that she found journalism.

It's surprisingly _easy_. It makes Caitlin's heart beat faster and she keeps noticing more things that make her feel warm from within. But still, Iris doesn't look at her funny when she says something that normally makes her feel socially awkward and she teases her but it's never malicious, and it's just... easy.  
It's good. Caitlin kind of dreads it when the power comes back on.

Iris seems to find it amazing, though.  
"All the lights going on at the same time," she says gleefully, while looking out the door.  
"It's beautiful." When she puts her hand on the handle of the door, it opens without any resistance. Iris smiles at Caitlin over her shoulder.

Something in Caitlin's chest constricts. Iris is holding the door open with her body leaning against it.  
"So, I'm starving right now, do you wanna go and grab something to eat, since, you know, this is already a very weird first date." Caitlin breathes in and smiles. She cocks her head to the side when she asks:  
"This is a date?"

Iris smiles and Caitlin is blindsided by it. She holds out her hand.  
"It's a date," she says.

And when Caitlin wakes up in a strange apartment the next morning she smiles to no one in particular, Iris's hands already on her hips again.


End file.
